"Off the opening bell, Pereira immediately moved in on the champ, putting the pressure on right out of the gate. Backing Ankalaev up the fence, he forced a takedown out of the Dagestani, hurting Magomed with an overhand right that had absolutely everything behind it. That takedown backfired, and Pereira got on top, dropping 12-6 elbows. Anakaev covered up, unable to do anything but absorb punishment. Before long, that punishment became more than the ref wanted to see, with the elbows looking hard and heavy."
""I don't like to make excuses, but I've been saying I wasn't well that night, and I'm feeling very well tonight," Pereira told Joe Rogan following the fight, in reference to the initial loss to Ankalaev. He also downplayed the vengeance aspect, saying it simply wasn't healthy to pursue such things. Next up for Pereira could be Carlos Ulberg, Jiri Prochazka, or even Jon Jones."
Alex Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight title by defeating Magomed Ankalaev via TKO at UFC 320. Pereira pressed from the opening bell, hurt Ankalaev with an overhand right, forced a takedown attempt that backfired, and took top position to land heavy 12-6 elbows. Ankalaev covered up and absorbed sustained punishment until the referee stopped the fight at 1:20 of round one. Pereira addressed Ankalaev afterward, led a "Chama" chant, and said he felt well compared with their earlier meeting. Potential next opponents mentioned included Carlos Ulberg, Jiri Prochazka, and Jon Jones.
Read at Cageside Press
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